Discussions By Condition: I cannot get a diagnosis.

Left arm numbness, lightheadedness, plus other weird symptoms

I'll try to keep it short:It started about a month ago, with a weird dizzyness and mild numbness in left arm. It only occurred at work (office work, on computer), when I was concentrating on something. It went away when I got home, or in weekend... didn't notice any of the symptoms. It started manifesting in other places too, like when watching a movie, I would get lightheaded, and sometimes at night I would get some palpitations. It also felt sometimes like pressure in head and having trouble concentrating, but no (or rarely) headaches.Now it manifests a bit differently, more importantly it happens all over, not just at work. I sometimes feel tingling on my face and scalp, followed by mild nausea, general sick feeling. I also feel it as lightheadedness, minor dizziness (no vertigo), the fatigue/numbess/mild pain in left arm is there all the time.Recently it's happening almost all the time, especially when in front of PC reading or concentrating, I can barely work. The things that help me feel better are sports, or other more active/interactive occupations. I do not smoke, drink coffee, no green/black tea, I sleep (8-9 hours) and eat well, and I didn't have any history of any diseases. Blood pressure normal, or sometimes mildly high (130/90 max).Other information: I talked to 3 doctors, none of them had any clear diagnosis, I took Mg, and Kali Phos. D12, even though my blood tests were okay.

Any ideas of what could it be, or what tests to take are welcome.Thanks!

18 Replies:

Hm, no one knows, or no one cares? :PAnyways, some updates:Went to doc yesterday, he said it can't be anything serious (even though someone else suggested a head scan, CT or MRI, because of the pressure in head and tingling on face + scalp symptoms). He gave me some plant-extract anti-stress pills called Stresclin to take twice a day. This is the first day, and I have to admit they have some effects: I don't feel so lightheaded or nauseas, but I can feel a very small headache all the time, and last night after taking it I felt some other type of scalp tingling. So even though they might work, I'm not a sure it's a good idea to take these kind of pills, in the long run.I'm now waiting to see what happens, and would happily listen to your opinions and suggestions.Thanks!

Hi. I've been having dizziness, skin rashes, tingling in my feet, nausea and diabetes like symptoms (peeing alot, thirsty alot) however I had a blood test and it said I am not diabetic. Both my gf and I are having some of the same issues and generally just not feeling well. At this point I think it's the building we are living in. You might want to check your place for mould etc. It could be something environmental. Have you moved recently? Or started working in a different place? For us these issues only cropped up since we have lived in this building which is old and run down.. *sigh* We need to find a new place to live lol I hope you find out what is wrong soon. It's not fun feeling sick all the time.Hm, no one knows, or no one cares? :PAnyways, some updates:Went to doc yesterday, he said it can't be anything serious (even though someone else suggested a head scan, CT or MRI, because of the pressure in head and tingling on face + scalp symptoms). He gave me some plant-extract anti-stress pills called Stresclin to take twice a day. This is the first day, and I have to admit they have some effects: I don't feel so lightheaded or nauseas, but I can feel a very small headache all the time, and last night after taking it I felt some other type of scalp tingling. So even though they might work, I'm not a sure it's a good idea to take these kind of pills, in the long run.I'm now waiting to see what happens, and would happily listen to your opinions and suggestions.Thanks!

wats you hemoglobin level n blood sugar level ?Hemoglobin: 15.9 g/dLGlucose: 77 mg/dLHere are the rest of the values (they're in Romanian, but easy to figure out):HematologyBiochemistryOther valuesI also noticed a few gray hair pieces on both side of my head... can it be related?Thanks!

How old are you? I think that's a strange thing to ask whether gray hairs would be related to those symptoms. Gray hair usually indicates aging. Where did you hear that? I just wanted to write about what I think, based on what I learned from nursing school, and your symptoms. I'm not a doctor, but sometimes doctors miss things. I know that they symptoms of dizziness and tingling mean a lack of blood perfusion to different areas of the body, like the brain and the arm, etc. If your blood pressure runs a bit high, this might be the reason for it, because when there is a high pressure, it takes more work for the heart to pump blood to the body. Did you get your cholesterol levels checked? Because another thing I would be worried about is a stroke because of a blood clot, which causes the blood to not be able to get to the brain. Don't stress though, I am looking at the serious side of things, and if the doctors did all the tests they should have, it's probably nothing serious. The symptoms of dizziness can also be linked to dehydration. You need fluid for everything to function in your body. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but when I worked at a summer camp, I became familiar with the symptoms of dehydration. Dizziness, throwing up, etc. Stress is another possibility. I know that when people have anxiety attacks, they get palpitations, and get dizzy, throw up, etc. It reminds me of when my sister went to get her blood drawn, and she got so worked up about it that she almost passed out, and she had many of your symptoms. You should probably try to relax more, and maybe talk with someone about your anxiety, if you believe you have that. There might be a possibility that medications for anxiety could help. Above all,remember not to stress, and to get your blood pressure checked regularly, watch what you eat, exercise. All of these things contribute to a healthy heart. Also, consider taking omega 3 supplements, they are supposed to be good for your heart. Hemoglobin: 15.9 g/dLGlucose: 77 mg/dLHere are the rest of the values (they're in Romanian, but easy to figure out):HematologyBiochemistryOther valuesI also noticed a few gray hair pieces on both side of my head... can it be related?Thanks!

Hello, I'll try to keep it short:It started about a month ago, with a weird dizzyness and mild numbness in left arm. It only occurred at work (office work, on computer), when I was concentrating on something. It went away when I got home, or in weekend... didn't notice any of the symptoms. It started manifesting in other places too, like when watching a movie, I would get lightheaded, and sometimes at night I would get some palpitations. It also felt sometimes like pressure in head and having trouble concentrating, but no (or rarely) headaches.Now it manifests a bit differently, more importantly it happens all over, not just at work. I sometimes feel tingling on my face and scalp, followed by mild nausea, general sick feeling. I also feel it as lightheadedness, minor dizziness (no vertigo), the fatigue/numbess/mild pain in left arm is there all the time.Recently it's happening almost all the time, especially when in front of PC reading or concentrating, I can barely work. The things that help me feel better are sports, or other more active/interactive occupations. I do not smoke, drink coffee, no green/black tea, I sleep (8-9 hours) and eat well, and I didn't have any history of any diseases. Blood pressure normal, or sometimes mildly high (130/90 max).Other information: I talked to 3 doctors, none of them had any clear diagnosis, I took Mg, and Kali Phos. D12, even though my blood tests were okay. Any ideas of what could it be, or what tests to take are welcome.Thanks! You could try to get your vitamin B12 level checked. It should not be lower than 550. Most doctors dont even go near vitamin deficiency when diagnosing. Get D level checked too. Here is a link on Vitamin B12, and a symptoms list. It shows up slowly with just a few symptoms, and if left unchecked, can cause serious symptoms. Dont post there, it is only info page. http://forums.wrongdiagnosis.com/showthread.php?t=62327Check out all the basics and the list of symptoms. You will be amazed at how much b12 covers.

Hi. I've been having dizziness, skin rashes, tingling in my feet, nausea and diabetes like symptoms (peeing alot, thirsty alot) however I had a blood test and it said I am not diabetic. Both my gf and I are having some of the same issues and generally just not feeling well. At this point I think it's the building we are living in. You might want to check your place for mould etc. It could be something environmental. Have you moved recently? Or started working in a different place? For us these issues only cropped up since we have lived in this building which is old and run down.. *sigh* We need to find a new place to live lol I hope you find out what is wrong soon. It's not fun feeling sick all the time.Yeah tell me about it... it's really annoying. Yes, I've started a new job recently (few months) but no one from my workplace has the symptoms, and it's a pretty new building, not some cheap company. But the point is good, I also thought it was something from the environment, since at first only happened at my work.. as soon as I got there, I started feeling it. I thought about the electrical devices in the room, some low frequency noise, mold issues, everything... but can't confirm anything.An update: the anti-stress pills kinda made it better, but it's still there, and doesn't seem to go away.

How old are you? I think that's a strange thing to ask whether gray hairs would be related to those symptoms. Gray hair usually indicates aging. Where did you hear that? I just wanted to write about what I think, based on what I learned from nursing school, and your symptoms. I'm not a doctor, but sometimes doctors miss things. I know that they symptoms of dizziness and tingling mean a lack of blood perfusion to different areas of the body, like the brain and the arm, etc. If your blood pressure runs a bit high, this might be the reason for it, because when there is a high pressure, it takes more work for the heart to pump blood to the body. Did you get your cholesterol levels checked? Because another thing I would be worried about is a stroke because of a blood clot, which causes the blood to not be able to get to the brain. Don't stress though, I am looking at the serious side of things, and if the doctors did all the tests they should have, it's probably nothing serious. The symptoms of dizziness can also be linked to dehydration. You need fluid for everything to function in your body. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but when I worked at a summer camp, I became familiar with the symptoms of dehydration. Dizziness, throwing up, etc. Stress is another possibility. I know that when people have anxiety attacks, they get palpitations, and get dizzy, throw up, etc. It reminds me of when my sister went to get her blood drawn, and she got so worked up about it that she almost passed out, and she had many of your symptoms. You should probably try to relax more, and maybe talk with someone about your anxiety, if you believe you have that. There might be a possibility that medications for anxiety could help. Above all,remember not to stress, and to get your blood pressure checked regularly, watch what you eat, exercise. All of these things contribute to a healthy heart. Also, consider taking omega 3 supplements, they are supposed to be good for your heart. Thanks for the encouraging words and your help.I'm 24 years old, and the gray hair is kinda weird at this age, especially because I didn't have any before this started happening :)Anyways, the problem is my doctor didn't run any tests... I did the blood tests on my own, and my doc says it can't be anything serious. He does check my blood pressure regularly and as I've mentioned, it's most of the time normal. But then again, I'm more relaxed in his cabinet, so it's not a real measuring. The anxiety might have caused several of the symptoms, hence the anti-stress pills might have helped a bit, but I'm guessing the anxiety started after semi-panicking about the first appearing symptoms. The most persisting symptom is the numbness/fatigue in my left arm/fingers, and I'm easily fatigued physically.

Some update and another question:Well it seems that some of the symptoms were anxiety, or something similar, because now with the anti-stress pills, I feel better. However, the numbness/weakness in my left arm is almost constant and I told my doc to send me to a neurologist, since that seems appropriate for what I read on the internet... The thing is, I can only go in more than a week, and I was wondering if it might be something related to blood circulation, which would require sooner attention.The symptoms are the followings:My left hand gets mildly numb, and fatigued all day. It usually goes away with some stretching, or moving, but comes back after. As I noticed, it's worse when I'm relaxed, not moving, sitting at PC, or even sleeping. Sometimes at night it gets really bad, numbness and tingling move to my fingers (it varies from middle finger, and even little finger) and palm, with an increased pain, which even keeps me from sleeping.I should also mention I noticed some kind of lipoma on the far left side of my chest (pecs). The doc said it should be a lipoma, and if it doesn't grow, we'll just leave it there.So, should I just wait, and go to the neurologist, or should I take some other actions?Thanks!

Some update and another question:Well it seems that some of the symptoms were anxiety, or something similar, because now with the anti-stress pills, I feel better. However, the numbness/weakness in my left arm is almost constant and I told my doc to send me to a neurologist, since that seems appropriate for what I read on the internet... The thing is, I can only go in more than a week, and I was wondering if it might be something related to blood circulation, which would require sooner attention.The symptoms are the followings:My left hand gets mildly numb, and fatigued all day. It usually goes away with some stretching, or moving, but comes back after. As I noticed, it's worse when I'm relaxed, not moving, sitting at PC, or even sleeping. Sometimes at night it gets really bad, numbness and tingling move to my fingers (it varies from middle finger, and even little finger) and palm, with an increased pain, which even keeps me from sleeping.I should also mention I noticed some kind of lipoma on the far left side of my chest (pecs). The doc said it should be a lipoma, and if it doesn't grow, we'll just leave it there.So, should I just wait, and go to the neurologist, or should I take some other actions?Thanks!I would agree with the doc on the anxiety thing. From my own personal experience, the hand pain and numbness could be unconnected with the facial symptoms. I have been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. Occasionally, when it decides to flare up, which, for me, is usually fairly far between, as it hasn't progressed. Some people, it can progress swiftly. In my profession as a sign language interpreter in training, I expect that with my continuing use of my hands and wrists to make small movements and changes at a fast pace, I should see further progression.Some people have flareups many times a week. it can cause pain radiating throughout the whole hand and wrist, or just in parts of the hands or wrist. it can also cause numbness or tingling when it pinches the nerve in the carpal tunnel. Aside from that, we feel pain more when we are at rest. It is taught regularly in the nursing field that the main reason for activities aside from social interaction is to keep residents from thinking about their pain, because when you think about it, it gets worse. If you are alone in a dark room, or are the only one awake, the pain can grab at your attention, causing it to get worse just by it being the only thing to think about when you are at rest.as for the other two symptoms (fatigue and facial tingling), be prepared to hear him recommend an MRI and CT scan to check for lesions in the brain or other abnormalities. He will want to rule out stroke, tumors, thrombocythemia, MS, subdural hematoma, and several other diseases that occur in the differential for those four symptoms. another doctor might order blood tests for hypokalemia, or low potassium.In my opinion, increase the potassium in your diet for now. Hypokalemia has the following definition:Abnormally low potassium concentration in the blood. It may result from potassium loss by renal secretion or by the gastrointestinal route, as by vomiting or diarrhea. It may be manifested clinically by neuromuscular disorders ranging from weakness to paralysis, by electrocardiographic abnormalities (depression of the T wave and elevation of the U wave), by renal disease, and by gastrointestinal disorders. (Dorland, 27th ed)Potassium and sodium need to be in balance in the body because they are the main salts in the body. You probably have a low level potassium deficiency, which, if the potassium level in your blood stayed on a constant level (due to a diet that didn't change), then simply eating enough bananas (good source of potassium, and they taste good :D) might be enough to resolve the symptoms. keep the appointment with the neurologist though.

Are you overweight or do you find difficulty losing weight?Do you feel to hot or too cold?Do you think it is stress related?Try going for swims,go for walks or jogs to help with circulation and do some relaxing and fun things and worry less and don't overfocus on work and see if this helps.If not,get tested for hypothyroidism and B vitamins if you havn't already.

Are you overweight or do you find difficulty losing weight?Do you feel to hot or too cold?Do you think it is stress related?Try going for swims,go for walks or jogs to help with circulation and do some relaxing and fun things and worry less and don't overfocus on work and see if this helps.If not,get tested for hypothyroidism and B vitamins if you havn't already.Not overweight, I'm barely hitting the BMI limit, almost underweight. No sensitiveness to temperature, although I prefer warmer weather :)I think the other symptoms were stress related, but not the hand numbness. This appeared before anything else, and it's still there regardless of my spirit.As I said, I'm going to a neurologist to see what he thinks, maybe it's nerve related. But other suggested it's blood circulation related, that's why I got a bit worried. I also go swimming every week, including tomorrow.

I would agree with the doc on the anxiety thing. From my own personal experience, the hand pain and numbness could be unconnected with the facial symptoms. I have been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. Occasionally, when it decides to flare up, which, for me, is usually fairly far between, as it hasn't progressed. Some people, it can progress swiftly. In my profession as a sign language interpreter in training, I expect that with my continuing use of my hands and wrists to make small movements and changes at a fast pace, I should see further progression.Some people have flareups many times a week. it can cause pain radiating throughout the whole hand and wrist, or just in parts of the hands or wrist. it can also cause numbness or tingling when it pinches the nerve in the carpal tunnel. Aside from that, we feel pain more when we are at rest. It is taught regularly in the nursing field that the main reason for activities aside from social interaction is to keep residents from thinking about their pain, because when you think about it, it gets worse. If you are alone in a dark room, or are the only one awake, the pain can grab at your attention, causing it to get worse just by it being the only thing to think about when you are at rest.as for the other two symptoms (fatigue and facial tingling), be prepared to hear him recommend an MRI and CT scan to check for lesions in the brain or other abnormalities. He will want to rule out stroke, tumors, thrombocythemia, MS, subdural hematoma, and several other diseases that occur in the differential for those four symptoms. another doctor might order blood tests for hypokalemia, or low potassium.In my opinion, increase the potassium in your diet for now. Hypokalemia has the following definition:Abnormally low potassium concentration in the blood. It may result from potassium loss by renal secretion or by the gastrointestinal route, as by vomiting or diarrhea. It may be manifested clinically by neuromuscular disorders ranging from weakness to paralysis, by electrocardiographic abnormalities (depression of the T wave and elevation of the U wave), by renal disease, and by gastrointestinal disorders. (Dorland, 27th ed)Potassium and sodium need to be in balance in the body because they are the main salts in the body. You probably have a low level potassium deficiency, which, if the potassium level in your blood stayed on a constant level (due to a diet that didn't change), then simply eating enough bananas (good source of potassium, and they taste good :D) might be enough to resolve the symptoms. keep the appointment with the neurologist though.Thanks for the answer!Well the anxiety part, as I said, is true, because I feel better now that I take some anti-stress pills and relax a bit. But the hand part is what I'm worried about, as it started before everything else. The face tingling also went away, mostly... I can rarely feel it. About the potassium: I'm eating a banana every day already, so idk :DI'm not ruling out CTS either, since I work on the PC almost all day... that's why I wanted to go to the neurologist... well, I'll just wait and see, hope it's nothing too serious that requires sooner attention.

Hey thereHopefully by now you have some more concrete answers to what is going on with your numbness.Here are some suggestions though incase.Could be related to a pinched nerve.I've been dealing with a whiplash-type injury in my neck over of the last two years.When I overextend my neck, or put too much strain on it, the muscles get strained and irritated, causing some inflammation which then puts pressure on particular nerves (i.e. pinches them).I have been recommended to take anti-inflammatories like ibruprofen/Advil to help this.Anyhow, the pinched nerves cause numbness in my hands, numbness tingling burning sensation at the back of my head. I also get numbness in my extremeties.Also numbness and burning across my head. It also causes dizziness which make me feel nauseous.When I sleep at night, my arms regularly get numb, down to particular fingers - this is pressure on specific nerves.I have been told that it is not serious.It seems to me that if you have relief of symptoms from physical activity, but get it more during sleeping/lying down/working at computer - it could mean you have pressure on particular nerves in that position.Try getting a really good ergonomic chair for work and a good supportive pillow/mattress, etcI've been told the set up of your computer monitor height, in relation to your sitting position makes a HUGE difference - you can create subtle pressure in your neck/back when you are working in a slightly wrong position.Try doing some research, but you should be looking straight ahead at your monitor, and not down.Also, your feet should be touching the ground, or else put some sort of foot rest so they can sit flat.Also try a pilates ball and see if there is a difference.Hope this helps.

Hey thereHopefully by now you have some more concrete answers to what is going on with your numbness.Here are some suggestions though incase.Could be related to a pinched nerve.I've been dealing with a whiplash-type injury in my neck over of the last two years.When I overextend my neck, or put too much strain on it, the muscles get strained and irritated, causing some inflammation which then puts pressure on particular nerves (i.e. pinches them).I have been recommended to take anti-inflammatories like ibruprofen/Advil to help this.Anyhow, the pinched nerves cause numbness in my hands, numbness tingling burning sensation at the back of my head. I also get numbness in my extremeties.Also numbness and burning across my head. It also causes dizziness which make me feel nauseous.When I sleep at night, my arms regularly get numb, down to particular fingers - this is pressure on specific nerves.I have been told that it is not serious.It seems to me that if you have relief of symptoms from physical activity, but get it more during sleeping/lying down/working at computer - it could mean you have pressure on particular nerves in that position.Try getting a really good ergonomic chair for work and a good supportive pillow/mattress, etcI've been told the set up of your computer monitor height, in relation to your sitting position makes a HUGE difference - you can create subtle pressure in your neck/back when you are working in a slightly wrong position.Try doing some research, but you should be looking straight ahead at your monitor, and not down.Also, your feet should be touching the ground, or else put some sort of foot rest so they can sit flat.Also try a pilates ball and see if there is a difference.Hope this helps.Hello, thanks for your post. I haven't been updating this, but you are partially right about the diagnosis. I've had a cervical + cerebral MRI scan done, which showed that one of the cervical discs in my spine is a bit moved from its place. I've been also told that it's not serious, and after this the other symptoms started to fade away. I'm still fatigued much more easily and I can feel the numbness, but the dizzyness, nausea and other worse symptoms are mostly gone. I'm taking some multivitamins for the nervous system, and a bee-venom extract creme for my neck. I'm also doing some basic gymnastics which should relieve the pressure.I've already done some research about proper sitting posture, but I can't really find a good chair. My screens are also a few inches below my sight, but that's the best I can do for now (I need to find some boxes to put them under the screens). I've also tried the pilates ball (only at home), but I somehow feel that even though I sit in the correct position, because of the "active sitting" I feel a bit tired after sitting on it for too long. So all in all it's not that bad, but it's still here, and it's annoying :)If you have any other suggestions, they're more than welcome!